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Well after forty years of ownership I'm finally starting a second go around at restoring my 1970 240Z. I purchased the car well used in 1978 with 90,000 plus miles from the local Datsun Dealership in Chilliwack, BC Canada. Here is a picture from July '78: Here is what it looks like today. Looks reasonable but the paint is showing its age and there are some other issues lurking that need to be fixed properly. Full disclosure will come later. Restoration number one was done in 1982 and I only did what I could afford at the time. I actually think this first attempt of was really "Canadian maintenance", my poor Zed was at a do or die point. Here are a few pics from 1982: I went to the parts department at my local Datsun dealership and made, what I learned later was, the largest order of body parts that anyone had ever placed with them to that point. By the time my body man and painter were finished and with the cost of the car, I could have bought a brand new 1978 280Z instead, but hey I was 18 at the time and I have never regretted doing it. In future installments I will list my restoration goals add a time line of my 40 years of ownership, after I sort and scan more of my old pictures. Anyway I plan to document my adventure with my re-restoration here, and I'm sure I will be looking for advice, also comments and tips will be very welcomed. Cheers, Mike

For some of you Datsun Spirit may be a familiar name, for others this may be the first time your learning of this shop. Eiji however, Datsun Spirit's founder is a legend in the Z Car community with his orange, slide carb, 240ZG. Datsun Spirit offers various parts for L Series motors, from our custom piston and rods to full on part restorations. Utilizing Eiji's knowledge and passion of L Series motors Datsun Spirit has created top quality products that speak for themselves in the Z car community. We are committed to bringing additional products to the Z market and over the next few months we will be updating our products catalog to showcase just that. Please visit us at Datsun Spirit, Inc. | over the coming weeks to see what we've been up to.

Good evening everyone, I think I have posted about this before but I am in need of help. A little background, my grandfather left my family around 20 cars or so but thanks to the neglect of my dad they have rotted in the warehouse. I am 18 years old and going off to college next year but have successfully restored a 1994 cobra from the same warehouse. I am based near Houston, Texas and want to make this car a drifting machine. I plan on engine swapping this car but I am unsure on where to start. I will include some pictures, I have started by removing the seats and other items from the interior. I want to remove the dash from the Datsun and have downloaded the manual and watched countless YouTube videos but I cannot remove the steering wheel housing from the car. I accidentally broke a steering wheel remover bolt on trying to remove this steering wheel, please let me know what you all think and if there is anyone based near the Houston area I can contact for further instruction, this would be much appreciated. Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a blessed night. - Reece

Hi guys/gals, I have had a few people on various posts here and on reddit asking for a full build thread, so I am going to try to make that happen. This will be a documentation of the restoration and modification of my 1972 240Z. This project really started a year ago, so I will give a quick background. After that I will try to post regularly; it may take a week or two to get this thread up to date with the work I have done so far, but it is what it is. Some things will be out of order as I find time. If you want to follow real time then follow me on instagram if you like (d_stratton). Okay - this started in October of 2016 when I got my first 240z. I picked up this car (lets call this "the blue car") for 500 bucks. It was incredibly rusty and dirty 1973 model; it looked like it was parked outside for 20 years. The last tabs where 1988 and it was FILLED with rat/mice poo. But hey, for 500 bucks I got to enter into my dream car since I was a little boy. This turned out to be kind of a gold mine of a parts car - I didn't notice when I bought there was a whole separate dash with all the gauges and two sets of carburetors in the back trunk under a tarp. I disassembled this entire car down to a bare shell and sold quite a few parts off of it. I kept the suspension and the good dashboard from this car as well as some odds and ends. The shell was way to rusted to do anything with, ended up giving it away for free. These are all the pictures I have left of this car; unfortunately all my pictures from this time frame are lost.

Check out this listing on eBay https://www.ebay.com/itm/112673464064

After nearly 5 years of serving the Datsun community, Vintage Chrome will be terminating the service by the end of this year. There comes a time in most every entrepreneurial venture when you reach a point in which you have a tough decision to make......"get big or get out". Unfortunately, achieving significant growth at this stage of the venture would simply require a commitment of resources that I am not prepared to make at this stage of my life. So, I have decided that "getting out" is the best course of action for me and my family. I know that there are members of the club that would still like to have some plastic parts chrome plated, so I am announcing a final production run and club member discount. The Promotion will work as follows: 1. Orders will be accepted from today's date, October 11, 2016, through October 31, 2016. 2. Pricing for many of the more common Z and other Datsun parts are listed below, but we also have the capability to chrome plate any rigid plastic piece, even if it was not originally plated by Datsun . If you need this customized service, please email vintagechromellc@gmail.com for a specific quote. 3. The customer must ensure that parts to be chromed are disassembled to the point where only the pieces to be chromed are provided to us. No other preparation is required by the customer. All stripping and prep work will be completed by us. 4. Payment Policy: Payment via PayPal is due at time of order. Domestic (US) shipping and handling charges will be $9.95 per package 5. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS: Prices are the same as quoted here except non-US customers will be responsible for freight costs and applicable customs charges, if any. 6.Shipping Info: Your parts should be be shipped to the following address: M. Robbins - Vintage Chrome 7250 S. Durango Dr., Suite 130-164 Las Vegas, NV 89113 9. Please be sure to include with your packaged parts: Your name Return shipping address Email address Phone number Special instructions (even if previously communicated through PM or email). Examine your cores carefully before sending them to Vintage Chrome. Peeling or discolored chrome is OK, but parts must not be warped, have cracks, gouges or missing pieces in the substrate. We do not repair damaged plastic parts or re-paint parts after plating. Un-platable cores will be returned (if requested) or disposed of. Pricing for many common Z and other Datsun parts are listed below: Item Description 260/280z Tail Light Bezels (pair) $229.95 240/260/280Z Center Vents (each) $39.95 240/260/280z round a/c vents: (pair) $79.95 240/260/280Z Door Escutcheons (pair) $59.95 240Z Series I Hatch Grilles (pair) $59.95 260/280z hood vents (pair) $199.95 Plastic Wheel Center Caps (set of 4) $199.95 240/260/280Z Heater Control Panel (each) $129.95 240/260/280Z Door Pull Strap Finishers (pair) $49.95 240/260/280z emblems Email your needs for custom quote Please contact vintagechromellc@gmail.com for quotes on other parts or anything custom. Pictures of some past jobs will follow. .

http://huddleston240z.weebly.com My friend, Dave, is in the process of restoring a 1971 240z for a second friend, Iain. He is doing a great job of documenting the process in the above blog, along with lots of photos. I thought some might find this interesting. This afternoon, we're going to tackle spindle pins. This is a job I have not yet done on my 240z, so I thought it would be interesting to help Dave out, to see if the spindle pin and bushing replacement is something I might want to tackle next winter.

This vehicle, which has always resided in Florida is in excellent condition compared to other Datsun 240Z's which are often found rusted out. The owner bought this (nearly) rust-free car as a project destined for a performance build. Being mechanically inclined, the customer is going to be doing all the assembly and upgrades but wanted us to take care of the body restoration.

When I removed these parts, I must have figured they were unique enough to remember where they went, obviously I was wrong. Can anyone help me identify these parts, where they belong on a 1977 280Z? Any assistance is very much appreciated. Parts may not be the original color, I had the some powdered coated black, and painted some others.

I just picked up a '73 restoration project and am looking for some good Z books (this is my first Datsun). Does anyone have any recommendations? So far I'm looking at these: How to Restore Your Datsun Z-Car https://www.amazon.com/dp/1931128022/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_11Ovvb0AAQRTR How to Rebuild Your Nissan/Datsun OHC Engine: Covers L-Series Engines 4-Cylinder 1968-1978, 6-Cylinder 1970-1984 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1931128030/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_C4Ovvb1GA93K6 Essential Datsun Z 240Z to 280Zx: The Cars and Their Story 1969-83 (Essential Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1870979516/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_w5Ovvb17NTV8C Haynes Datsun 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z Manual, 1970-1978 (Haynes Repair Manuals) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0856962066/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_95Ovvb0RSM84Q

Does anyone have any photos of the original look of the engine once painted? Anything would help. Trying to cover up this Ford Blue that's on the engine now. Mainly concerned about which brackets get painted, Freeze plugs, covers, overspray, etc. I may or may not try to recreate the factory overspray look, but I'm more interested in the other details. What's cad, what's not. etc. I don't really need an entire rundown, but a pictoral of someone who's done a true-to-stock engine refinishing project would be helpful. I've discussed some parts with Al from California Datsun, but then there are some items I know are original paint on the 01/70... but he had told me they were to be bare aluminum (like the timing chain inspection plate on the front of the head... it's painted OE colour). As far as this engine is concerned, it is safe to assume that anything that is OE colour was never repainted or refinished- as everything that was touched was either sprayed silver or ford blue- both incorrect.

Ok, so we are getting pretty close to spraying primer on my 1970 restoration project. I have all of the new trip pieces and NOS logos, etc... The whole body is going to look great, except the gas door latch- the chrome is pitted and rotten looking. Do inhale any alternatives other than sandblasting it and getting it re chromed? Any aftermarket replacements? Any suggestions would be ost appreciated.

So, one bit at a time my 1970 Z is finding its way back to respectability. Hope to have her back on the road in April. Some progress pics..... Front and rear spoilers are GONE, holes patched and sanded. Body sanded down and excessive bondo repairs replaced with mesh supported fiberglass. Hubcaps coming along (yes, I know they're the wrong ones for a 1970, but I like them). She's running solidly now, and the interior is about 80%. Tail light on the left has been polished and restored, one on right is as they came to me.

I finally got around to moving my blog into a real website. I'm trying to go through my photos (over 2,400 photos, 6.6GB) and document what I've learned. I've got a bunch posted, I hope some of you can find it useful. 240Z – Carburetors240Z – Changing Instrument Lighting240Z – Choke Cable Repair240Z – Electronic Points240Z – Fuel Tank240Z – Generic Wiring Troubleshooting Checklist IN PROCESS240Z – Half-Shaft Rebuild240Z – Heater Blower Motor Replacement240Z – Multi - function Switches (Hazard, blinker, ignition) IN PROCESS240Z – Parking Brake Refurbish240Z – Power Door Locks240Z – Refurbish Tail Light Assembly240Z – Removing Window Cranks240Z – Replacing oil seals on R180 differential240Z – Seat Rebuild240Z – Speedometer Cable Replace240Z – Toyota Disk Brake Upgrade240Z – Windshield Washer Pump Replacement240Z – Wiring Harness RefreshGeneral Tips and Tricks

First of all, I am very new to this forum haha. There has been a late-build 1969 240z in my family ever since my grandpa bought it brand new in 1969. It sat for 30 years, mostly outside in southern California. It only has 83,xxx miles on it! My family doesn't want to get rid of the car, however nobody, except for me, is interested in restoring it or fixing it up. As for me, I am 16 years old and a HUGE car enthusiast. Im the only one in the family who wants the 240 to fix up. My aunt and uncle recently brought the car to my house in Palm Springs. This is how the car looked when it arrived: My plan is to restore the car, and do some mods to it. Me being 16, I am a huge fan of the JDM car scene, and stanced cars. However that is NOT my intention for this car. I have too much respect for the 240z to ruin it like that. The car has rust. A LOT, mostly by the rear decklid. I assume that when it would rain, water would collect up at the bottom and sit. There are some pics of it above. There is also rust on the bumpers. I already removed the rear bumper to examine it closer. The exhaust is very rusted too. I know for a fact that the wheels are not original, I think they might be dealer installed. The tires are some brand I've never herd of, and they're very cracked from sitting. The motor (just like all other l24's) is bulletproof and in good condition. The 4 speed tranny shifts alright, and pops out of 3rd gear. Apparently it did that ever since they bought it xD. I drive it around my community every once in a while. The fuel in it is very old and probably bad. I'm also gonna do an oil change soon. I am not sure about the condition of the clutch. The most recent thing I've done is replace the battery. The interior is in ok condition. It has no a/c, which is a b*** in the desert. The vinyl passenger seat has only one tear in it and the driver seat is a lot worse. The carpet in the back needs to be replaced. Only one speaker works and sounds terrible, as expexted haha. The tach and speedo both don't work, and I'm not sure whats wrong, or how to replace them. Thank you guys for reading and I would love any advice! I will be posting updates on the car.

I bought this car in pretty good condition in 1986, rebuilt the engine, replaced suspension/brakes, floor and frame. I moved away for work and the car has been stored in a heated garage since 1989. The garage owners have sold their house. Keeping it isn't practical for me anymore so I'd like to get it back into shape and pass it along to another appreciative owner. It will need work, so I would welcome any insight and experiences for restoration. I don't have the funds to do a complete restoration, but would at least like to get it functional and in sellable condition. Here are my biggest questions: Recommend a mechanic in Montreal that can do an assessment and get it running; Suggestions or recommendations from those who have gone through the restoration process. I'd like to know how to do this on a budget; Recommend a place like Whitehead Performance where they could take this as a project over the winter so I can have it running in the spring. They suggested 5000-7500 to get it running i.e.: replace all hoses fluids, gas tank and some electrical work; Recommendations about whether to sell it as is or get it running and take it from there. Recommend a transport company that can ship the car to Toronto I’m heading to Montreal this weekend (October 24-27) to pull the plugs fill the engine with varsol or oil and manually turn the engine to see if its seized. Then take pics of it and list it and hopefully make a decision. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Project thread for the 2050-Z: I bought this 280z in Summer 2011. The original ad on Craigslist: 1977 Datsun 280Z - (Bellingham) Date: 2011-07-24, 11:03AM PDT http://bellingham.cr...2510772069.html Well I never thought I would get rid of her but she needs someone thats going to drive her more often. This car is an absolute blast to drive. It handles great, runs strong and smooth. Great to take out on Chuckanut or go cruise in the county. Couple of notes: - I have the original factory manual. - I have the original factory wheel blocks. - I think the spare tire is original. - I have a spare hood from an earlier model w/out the hood vents that comes with the car. - The car has the original mag wheels and these specific wheels are hard to find. They are very sought after in the Z community and I have had shops ask to buy or trade them in. If you are here then you probably know something about Zs so I wont educate about these cars and just give a list of what I have replaced or upgraded. I bought this car to drive it, not show it, so I have not done anything to the exterior. Its hard to find one of these today that hasnt either been restored and someone is asking alot for it, or is a rust bucket. This one falls right in the middle. Runs great but is a great beginner project if someone wanted to take it to the next level. It runs great. Year: 1977 Make: Datsun Model: 280Z (2 Seater) Mileage: 169,000 All of these items have been replaced or upgraded over the stock parts: -Tokico Shocks and Springs (lowered car approx 1-2 inches) -4 piston Toyota brake calipers installed on the front -Pioneer DEH-P3800mp CD player with MP3/WMA playback -Stainless steel brake lines are installed -Stainless steel clutch hose -Valve Cover was powder coated a gun metal grey awhile ago -Polyurethane master bushing kit from Energy suspension. All the bushings under the car have been replaced and the ride is very tight -It has a 6 into 1 exhaust header that was ceramic coated at a friends shop. -Complete mendrel bent exhaust system built by Z specialities -EGR has been removed and blocked off -Rebuilt fuel injectors -Fuel lines and fuel rail back to the filter -Fuel Filter -Spark plugs and wires -Battery was replaced about a month ago -New Distributor cap and rotor -Radiator has been taken out, flushed and pressure tested and came back fine -Thermostat -Air Regulator -MSD 3 Blaster Coil -Door seals have been replaced -Fuel injection system and mass airflow sensor was calibrated by Z-Sport in Everett -Brand new Carpet kit installed -Just replaced the air intake hoses (middle of June) from the air box to the MAF and from there to the intake manifold and it idles great now, the old hoses had a slight vacuum leak. Couple of other things: -Intake manifold has been hot tanked and is very clean -Engine was compression tested and the results were great: 5 cylinders above 160, one at 155 This car is not perfect, couple of things the next owner would need to know: -The body has a few dings, nothing major but would need some TLC. -Car does get a little damp inside in the winter. -Drivers side rear tire rubs slightly on hard right turns. Might need an adjustment. -Someone broke the antennae off recently -There are some minor surface rust in places but nothing major. I have been inside and out and under this car doing a lot of work and the underbody and floorboards are fine. -Previous owner backed into something on the back passenger, he repainted over it but would need some smoothing out. I have taken a picture of this area specifically. Cash Only. I have invested much more into this than I am asking. This is not a desperation sale so please dont lowball me. Only inquire if youre a seriously interested, if someone doesnt buy it I will continue to drive and enjoy this car and eventually drop a V-8 or something similar into it. If you have any questions feel free to contact me and I will answer them to the best of my abilities. I have plenty of more pictures, email me if you want to see them. Datsun 2050-Z - Imgur A good start! More to come...

Picked up a 1970 240Z that my aunt and uncle gave to me a few months ago and have been working on it quite hard ever since. It was my aunt's first car that she got in 1973 and she has had it since. 11 years ago a connecting rod put a baseball size hole out the side of the block and it has sat in their garage since then. I gladly took it off their hands and the project has begun! The plan is to do a engine, trans, and rear end swap in it. I already picked up a 1979 ZX that I took the complete drivetrain out. The body was junk but the drivetrain was good. Got a buddy going over the trans and rear end for me pops is doing a complete rebuild on the engine. Also ditching the fuel injection, going to dual Weber carbs, bigger cam, and headers. Body and paint are in surprisingly good condition, so that will be the last thing I tackle. Right now I'm focusing on drivetrain and getting her back on the road. This is the car the day I picked it up. Drove 15 hours each way to get her. Right away I snatched the engine and trans out. I'm thinking this is why the engine wasn't running right. All the wiring on the car is atrocious, it's poorly spliced and random butt connectors everywhere. The engine harness is going to need to be replaced and the dash gone over. So I pulled the dash. Hopefully I'll be able to get it back in one day. haha Engine bay had a few coats of grime and paint on it. It was looking pretty rough. Decided to start fresh, so I had the engine bay soda blasted. Unfortunately I'm working out of 2 apartment garages so I don't have anywhere to blast, but it was only $150 and it came back awesome. Couldn't be happier with the results. This is the engine bay just bare metal. Also picked up a cabinet blaster from Harbor Freight so I decided to test it out. Blasted, primed, and painted the brake booster and horns. Cabinet worked great and the parts came out great. Did this while I was waiting on the engine bay to get blasted.

My Z exterior project is complete...but my skill level for interior work is not as solid as I thought! Anyone know of a good place who restores interiors in Florida, pref South FL? Cheers!

I am having body work and a complete repaint done in my 1970 240z. I have purchased all new trim, weatherstripping and emblems. However, the emblems (which are all from Nissan) are all plastic, but the originals are metal. Will I decrease the value of my restoration by putting these plastic replacement emblems on the car? The original emblems are not damaged, but are missing some paint and the chrome is faded. Any thoughts? Keith

I'm neck deep into a complete ground up rebuild of my '73 240z. I thought it's about time I started a thread on this car and started sharing my "experiences" I just finished replacing the passenger side floor-pan and decided to start working on the battery compartment area (it was completely rusted out). After cutting away all the sheet metal I got a better view of the condition that the passenger side frame rail is in. I new that I would have to cut parts of it out and replace with good metal but after getting a good look at it I think I'll just replace the whole thing. Before I cut it away completely from the body I decided to take a closer look and try and devise a way of keeping everything in place so my alignment and so on would still be good after the replacement. This is when I noticed that some road damage had bent the frame rail toward the outside of the car. No wonder the floor pan seemed to tight going in (ahhh!). I was able to move the frame rail back toward the inside of the car a little with a 4X4 block and 5 pound sledge. This would have probably been easier with the floor pan out but oh well. It's a little late now. Before I continue further and do anything I seriously regret I thought I would try and see if any of the resident Z gurus could steer me in the right direction. I have 2 specific questions: 1) What methods can I use in my garage to get the frame rail straightened before I replace it? 2) How do I keep everything true when replacing the frame rail? Please keep in mind that the logistics of getting the body down to a shop with a frame straightener make that option almost impossible. I've attached some photos of my recent progress. If you look a the top of the frame rail you can see where it is bent. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Currently living in the Raleigh, NC area and have a 73 240 that needs a total ground-up, which I neither have the time or space to perform. Anyone have a good experience with shops in the area, especially body? Thanks Alex